“Maturing in the faith” is a strange phrase that I have heard many times in my life as a believer. If I’m being honest in every other area of my life I have fought, in some level, the push to be mature. The word feels boring, lifeless, settled and rather uninspiring!

……….but in truth I was young, and rather immature.

The scriptures talk about maturity and how as believers we are called to mature, to move away from simple understanding. Paul puts it like this in Ephesians;

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭4:11-13‬ ‭NIV‬

If I was asked to describe the life of Paul the apostle, words I would choose to omit would be boring, lifeless, settled and uninspiring. He was constantly moving, teaching, growing, reasoning and maturing. His definition of maturing is coming into the fullness of Christ.

Maturity should look like becoming more like Jesus

Jesus, now there’s someone else who’s life I would not describe as boring, lifeless, settled and uninspiring.

Jesus gives us a clue about the maturity He was looking for when He is teaching the parable of the sower in the gospel of Luke. He talks about the seed stolen from the rocky path and the seed that is scorched quickly. He then talks about the seed that is sown amongst thorns which choked the plants and then the seed that multiplied in the good soil.

When asked to explain all this He says this about the final two places the seed lands.

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke‬ ‭8:14-15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He says that maturing can be measured by the effect that life’s worries, riches and pleasures have on us. If they choke us then we aren’t mature. But what might that choking look like? In the next sentence He is contrasting this choking by describing someone who is noble, has a good heart, hears the word, retains it and through persevering produces a crop. Maturity has intrinsic qualities but it also has an external expression – multiplication.

Jesus seems to measuring maturity with a multiplication mindset.

I don’t think this is the only thing he means by maturity but it’s an interesting thing to note. This led me to write the following summary about maturing in our faith.

“Maturing in our faith will encompass many things but if it doesn’t include multiplication then it isn’t yet maturity“

I’m happy to be mature now…..